Sprig » insects

Garden Bug

JennyE — Sun, 25 Apr 2010 19:05:04 +0000

Could anyone ID this bug,it is being cared for by ants so it could be an aphid of some sort? JennyE

The case of the black moss

Niall — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 10:37:26 +0000

A couple of years back I planted a fever tree outside our gate. The tree never really took off. It didn’t die or look sickly, it just never seemed to grow. I put it down to the fact that the soil I had planted it in was this terrible, sandy, red earth and decided to give it some time to come right.

However, earlier this year, I noticed a black moss growing on the trunk and branches of the tree and thought I better do something about it. First I Googled black moss but didn’t come up with anything useful. Then I went to take a closer look at the tree and noticed hundreds of small, black ants moving up and down the tree trunk. Could the ‘black moss’ actually be the ants footprints, I wondered?

After a bit more Googling, I found something that surprised me. Both the ants and black moss were indicator species, pointing to the real culprit, aphids. I went back to inspect the tree for a third time and lo and behold, there in the leaves, were hundreds of tiny aphids.

So, in pulling all the pieces of the puzzle together, I worked out that the ants were protecting and ‘milking’ the aphids for their carbohydrate rich excrement, called honeydew. This was also coating the trunk and branches of the tree, providing a perfect environment for the black moss to grow.

Solution, kill the ants and let the aphids natural predators control the population.

Result, the fever tree has suddenly sprung to life.

New leaves sprouting on the fever tree.

Who’s been eating my Halleria?

Sonya — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 06:22:06 +0000

We got three Halleria Lucida plants at the plant fair last spring. Two are doing swimmingly, while the third seems to have been infected with a fungi, or eggs laid by little miggies… Have a look and compare the two pictures. Do you know what those little miggies are? The Halleria infected by them is sadly on its way out and I have no idea what to do about it.

Accidental Bee Photography

Niall — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 05:41:16 +0000

I was taking a photograph of a Wild Garlic (tulbaghia violacea or isihaqa) flower this morning and a bee flew into the shot as I took the photograph. Pretty cool.

Accidental bee photography.

Swarm of Dragonflies

Niall — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 13:55:36 +0000

There is a swarm of dragonflies (I would estimate 20 to 30) currently living in my garden. They are most probably there because of an abundance of food – they eat other smaller insect such as aphids and flies, so I ain’t complaining. Plus, they are pretty cool to watch darting about the place and seem to have taken a liking to a jasmine vine I have growing in my courtyard.

Has anyone experienced something similar? Is it a common occurrence?

Dragonfly fact – they belong to an ancient insect group called the Odonata, one of the first flying creatures on earth.

Dragonfly (close-up)

Dragonflies on the jasmine